October 20, 2010
Defenders Criticize N.F.L. For Helmet-to-Helmet Fines
By JUDY BATTISTA

The N.F.L. knew its crackdown on helmet-to-helmet hits would not quickly be embraced by defensive players who have long complained that rules protecting offenses make it difficult to do their jobs.

But they probably did not expect one of the best linebackers in the game, the Steelers’ James Harrison, to threaten to take his football and go home. Harrison — fined $75,000 Tuesday for an unpenalized helmet-to-helmet hit on Mohamed Massaquoi, a Cleveland Browns receiver, last Sunday — said in multiple radio appearances Tuesday night and Wednesday that he was pondering retirement over the rules enforcement.

“How can I continue to play this game the way that I’ve been taught to play this game since I was 10 years old?” Harrison said on Sirius XM Radio Wednesday, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “And now you’re telling me that everything that they’ve taught me from that time on, for the last 20-plus years, is not the way you’re supposed to play the game anymore. If that’s the case, I can’t play by those rules. You’re handicapping me.”

Harrison’s agent, Bill Parise, told The Post-Gazette that his client was considering retirement.

Harrison, who was fined more than two other helmet-to-helmet offenders because he is a repeat offender, met with Coach Mike Tomlin on Wednesday. Tomlin told Harrison to go home for the day and return Thursday. Tomlin said Harrison was bothered by the perception that he was a dirty player. He said he expected Harrison to play against the Dolphins on Sunday.

“I’m sure he’ll be back in the building tomorrow,” Tomlin said.

On Wednesday, Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all teams. It included a message to be read to players and coaches warning that those who strike an opponent in the neck or head against the existing rules could be subject to suspension, even for a first offense, and that game officials would have the authority to eject players immediately in appropriate cases. The league also sent a video to be shown to players and coaches that included examples of what would be permitted and banned hits.

“Violations of the playing rules that unreasonably put the safety of another player in jeopardy have no place in the game, and that is especially true in the case of hits to the head and neck,” Goodell wrote in the message.

The N.F.L.’s edict — there are no new rules involving hits to the head, just tougher penalties, including the possible suspensions and the threat of discipline for coaches and teams that do not teach proper technique — ignited confusion and, in some cases, outrage from many current players, especially defenders.

“If they’re going to keep making us go more and more and more like a feminine sport, we’re going to wear pink every game, not just on the breast cancer months,” Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder told The Palm Beach Post, in reference to the league’s breast cancer awareness campaign.

Bears safety Chris Harris wrote on Twitter that he knew the ramifications of hits to the head, but “nobody put a gun up to my head and said I had to play.” He added, “If it’s too dangerous, then ban the sport n make it illegal.”

Strikingly, some offensive players — who will benefit most from the league’s attention — seemed to agree with Harris, a departure from the usual split between offensive and defensive players.

“It’s a dangerous game; it really is,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. “I think we all signed up for this game knowing that it’s dangerous. I know Rodney Harrison did, too. I heard some of his comments about the style of play, and you’re right: nobody wants to see anybody get hurt. That’s not why we play the game. But we also know the physical nature of this sport is that people do get hurt. We’ve all been hurt. Everybody in this locker room has been hurt. I’ve had four or five surgeries. It’s just part of what you’re signing up for.”

The Falcons’ Dunta Robinson, who was fined $50,000 for a hit on Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson that left both players concussed, has a bye this week and did not comment. But in New England, safety Brandon Meriweather, at times pausing to control his emotions, apologized for his hit, which also drew a $50,000 fine. Meriweather launched himself at Baltimore tight end Todd Heap as he tried to make a catch.

“I understand the league is trying to protect the health of all our players,” Meriweather told reporters in Foxborough, Mass. “I don’t even know how to put it, but to be honest, I just want all of this to go away. I’m going to try my best to play within the rules, like my coach had always taught us. I’m going to hit and play the game like my coaches have always taught us; even in training camp, we have always been taught the proper way to hit, and I’m just going to focus on that and put it in my game in some way, shape, form or fashion. And from here on, I’m focusing on the Chargers.”

Meriweather might be the only one who will stop talking about it, though.

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